A new technique for measuring the concentrations of airborne radon progeny by using an imaging plate

Abstract

A new technique was developed for measuring the concentrations of airborne radon progeny by using an imaging plate (IP). The concentrations of radon progeny collected on the sampling filter were measured with the IP at 2-5-, 6-20- and 21-30-min intervals after sampling, and the alpha disintegrations were automatically counted by a self-developed image analysis software. To reduce the overlapping impact on alpha counts, a plastic separator with a 0.5-mm thickness was set between the sampling filter and the IP. The lower limit of detection for the equilibrium equivalent concentration of radon was estimated to be ∼3.5 Bq m(-3) for a 10-min sampling at 10 l min(-1). Comparison experiments showed that results measured with the new technique were well consistent with those measured with the alpha spectrometer. It indicates that the new technique is a useful method for accurate measurements of airborne radon progeny concentrations.